Many computer applications involve selecting elements from one or more lists for the purpose of assigning values to, or performing some tasks on, the selected elements. An exemplary application involving the selection of elements from a list is a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Server configuration program. A DHCP server configuration program provides various configuration information to clients in client-server communication networks, such as Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, policy filters for non-local source routing, default IP time-to-live values, and the like. Specifically, there are hundreds of different options that can be configured in a DHCP server for serving to clients.
Applications which require users to select elements from a list, such as the DHCP server, typically present the user with some sort of scrollable pick list. Unfortunately, requiring users to scroll through large lists in order to select elements to use, or to see which elements are currently in use, may be inefficient and confusing and may lead to user mistakes. Furthermore, it is often helpful for a user to know which elements he or she should select for a particular application, or which elements are currently being used for a particular application. Some application user interfaces do provide the user with some historical information about elements previously selected from a list. Web browsers, such as Netscape Navigator.RTM., store the addresses of web sites visited by a user during a particular session. The user, during the same session, can review, select and revisit web sites contained in the list. Word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word.RTM., typically provide a list of fonts available for use within a document. The word processing program may also display the font most recently used by a user. However, the existing methods of presenting historical data to a user do not provide ways of relieving the user from scrolling down through sometimes voluminous lists of elements.